Mr. Hay to Mr.
Hunter.
Department of State,
Washington, November 27,
1900.
No. 299.]Sir: I inclose herewith copy of a dispatch from
the consul-general at Guatemala City, together with its inclosures,
relating to the claim of Siegfried Koenigsberger for certain moneys
confiscated by the Guatemalan customs authorities, and for the annoyance
and losses attendant upon the action complained of. As nearly as the
Department can gather the facts in the case it appears:
That said Koenigsberger and his brother arrived at San José de Guatemala
from Guatemala City on December 7, 1899, holding checks for two valises
which arrived with them as baggage; that said valises were alleged to
contain $2,300 in silver; that Koenigsberger was called to the office of
the commandante of the port at about 9 o’clock in the evening, and upon
identifying the valises was commanded to open them, which he refused to
do, claiming that it was after business hours for the custom-house, and
further that as he still held the checks the valises were in the hands
of the railroad company; that on the following morning he was called
again to the office of the commandante and ordered to open the valises,
and upon his refusal he and his brother were imprisoned for about two
hours, when their release was secured by the United States consul; that
they were again summoned by the commandante, and in the presence of the
consul opened the valises, when, on counting the money, they discovered
a shortage of $508; which amount had been removed “without their
knowledge or consent;” that the remainder, $1,792, was taken by the
commandante and deposited in the mint, subject to the order of the
minister of finance; that on the following day, while they were
returning to Guatemala City, they were arrested by the chief of police
of Escuintla and there detained for twenty-four hours, then ordered back
to San José, still under arrest; but that on the way they received a
telegram signed by the president of the Republic which secured their
release.
It further appears that a presidential decree had been issued,
prohibiting the exportation of silver, but that said decree “has been
practically a dead letter, inasmuch as thousands of dollars weekly has
been exported by Government permission.”
From the facts as above related it would appear that for the money ($508)
abstracted while in possession of and in course of transportation by the
railroad company the remedy, if any, is against said company in the
courts. With regard to the remainder of the money, $1,792,
[Page 253]
which it is inferred was
confiscated in virtue of a law prohibiting the exportation of silver
from the country, it is the opinion of the Department that it was
Koenigsberger’s duty, when requested to do so, to submit the valises to
the customs authorities for the purpose of examining them to ascertain
whether they contained silver intended to be smuggled out of the
country. The fact that the Messrs. Koenigsberger had applied for
permission to embark and were about to leave the country and that the
valises stood at the wharf would appear to justify the inference of the
officials that they were about to take the valises, with their contents,
from the country in violation of law.
The consul-general reports that you are of opinion that the money was
unlawfully seized and should be returned to its owners. If you find that
the seizure and detention of the money are unlawful, you will bring the
matter to the attention of the Guatemalan Government and request the
prompt return of the money.
It is also stated in the consul-general’s report that the law against the
exportation of silver does not authorize imprisonment, but only
confiscation, as a penalty for smuggling. If this statement is accurate
you may report to the Department whether the Messrs. Koenigsberger have
an adequate remedy in damages before the local tribunals for such
unlawful arrest
I am, etc.
[Inclosure.]
Mr. McNally to
Mr. Hill.
Consulate-General of the United States,
Guatemala, September 14, 1900.
No. 83.]Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge
receipt of the Department’s No. 42a of July 30, 1900, inclosing copy of a memorial
of Siegfried Koenigsberger preferring a claim against the Government
of Guatemala for $2,300 pesos silver alleged to have been
confiscated by the Guatemalan Government, and $5,000 United States
gold for damages said to have been sustained for loss of the use of
the money and annoyance and inconvenience suffered from false
imprisonment, and instructing me to make an investigation and
report.
Knowledge of this case first came to me through Minister Hunter, who
handed me the metal checks for valises left in his care by Siegfried
Koenigsberger, saying at the same time that this money must be
returned to the Koenigsbergers as the seizure was unlawful. This was
the day before the minister left this capital for the United States
on leave. I was under the impression that Minister Hunter had made
some representation to the Guatemalan Government, and therefore did
not consult the Government during my short season as chargé
d’affaires.
I beg to inclose letters from our former consular agent at San José
de Guatemala as well as from former employees of the railroad and
Agencia Maritima, etc., at San José.
A presidential decree was promulgated prohibiting the exportation of
silver, which decree has been practically a dead letter, inasmuch as
[Page 254]
thousands of dollars
weekly has been exported by Government permission. I am not aware of
any penalty attached to the decree other than the confiscation of
the silver. The arrest of the Koenigsbergers was fully unwarranted
and in no sense according to the provision of the decree in
question. I am not informed as to the reasons the authorities
advance for their arrest. That they were arrested and confined in
jail in Escuintla and there detained for twenty-four hours can not
be disputed. The two valises in question were checked in Guatemala
in a manner indicating that they were to be taken on board the
steamer, as is usual with all baggage checked to the pier, and yet
it does seem singular that the Koenigsbergers, having full knowledge
of the decree against the exportation of silver, and knowing full
well the vigilance of the customs authorities in this regard, would
attempt to carry out in two valises $2,300 in silver, which in no
event could pass the officials, the weight readily indicating the
contents.
I have, etc.,
James C. McNally,
Consul-General.
[Subinclosure 1.]
Mr. Vair to Mr.
McNally.
United States Consular Agency,
San José, August 27, 1900.
No. 22.]Sir: In reply to your No. 20, I will say
the only reference I find to the Koenigsberger case in this office
is the following unnumbered letter of January 24, 1900:
“United States
Consul-General, Guatemala:
“In reply to your favor of the 19th of January regarding the
seizure of valises belonging to Koenigsberger, the facts, as
far as I have been able to obtain them, are as follows: The
valises were checked from Guatemala to the port, and on the
arrival of the baggage on the outer end of the pier the
valises with the checks still attached were taken by the
comandante. My first information of the affair was on the
following morning, when I received a request from
Koenigsberger to call on him at the comandancia, where he
was detained. I secured his release on my promise to produce
him when wanted.
“About noon of the same day I was requested by the comandante
to be present at the opening of the valises. The owners were
also there, and in order to prevent the locks from being
broken opened them under protest.
“Upton
Lorentz,
“Consular
Agent.”
As the people in the railroad and on the pier have been changed, I
can get no further information there. The factor of the company says
that the Koenigsbergers were not on the pier to embark when the
baggage was seized. They had applied for their permission to embark,
but had not actually received it. I believe the Government claim
that as evidence that they were about to embark.
I am, etc.,
Roger R. Vair, Consular Agent.
[Subinclosure 2.]
Mr. Swan to Mr.
McNally
Guatemala, September 3,
1900.
Sir: In December, 1899, I was agent for the
Guatemala Central Railroad Company, being in charge of the station
at San José. On the 8th of December a gentleman named Koenigsberger
presented two baggage checks, claiming his baggage, which was
checked at Guatemala the day before. The numbers on the checks
indicated that the baggage had been checked direct to the end of the
pier, and I told Mr. Koenigsberger that he would find his baggage on
the pier. He then left, but returned in
[Page 255]
about an hour saying that his baggage was not
on the pier; that he had been informed that it had been seized by
the comandante, and that as it was in the care of the railroad
company and he held their checks, he wanted me to get his baggage. I
told him that while it was true that the railroad company had
checked his baggage, it had not been checked to San José station,
but to the end of the pier, and had been delivered to the Agenda
Maritima direct by the train baggagemaster without even passing
through my hands, and that I could do nothing at all; he would have
to present his checks to that company, who had received the baggage
from the railroad company. He did this, but could not recover his
baggage, as it had been seized by officials of the Government
[Subinclosure 3.]
Mr. Myer to Mr.
McNally.
Guatemala City, September 3, 1900.
Sir: I saw and talked with the
Koenigsberger brothers on the train from San José de Guatemala to
Escuintla on or about the 7th day of December, 1899. They related to
me the circumstances of their arrest, and said they intended putting
the matter in the hands of the American minister immediately upon
their arrival in Guatemala.
I left the train at Escuintla, and before leaving the station I saw
them taken off the train by policemen and conducted to jail. I
afterwards saw them in jail at Escuintla, and at their earnest
request endeavored to help them out of their predicament, but failed
to do them any good. They were in jail from about 11.30 o’clock a.
m., December 9 or 10, until 11.30 o’clock the next day. I saw them
at the train the next day under police guard. They told me they were
to be taken back to San José de Guatemala, but before the train left
the station at Escuintla, they were taken off and conducted away by
policemen.
I did not know them prior to their trouble and have never talked to
them since.
[Subinclosure 4.]
Mr. Bellows to
Mr. McNally.
Guatemala, August 31,
1900.
Dear Sir: In compliance with your request
that I write you what I know of the taking of silver from the
Koenigsberger brothers on the night of December 7, 1899, I give the
following as my part in the affair: On the night in question I was
on the pier assisting in the embarking of passengers and baggage for
the steamer which was to sail that night, when the chief of the
police at San José came to me with an aide and demanded the delivery
of two valises, bearing railroad strap-checks, and which I happened
to know belonged to the Messrs. Koenigsberger. I refused the
delivery, saying that the agencia company was responsible for
baggage bearing checks, and that we could only deliver on
presentation of corresponding checks, but added that if an order to
deliver from the comandante of the port relieving us from all
responsibility was presented to the factor of the Agencia Maritima
Nacional Limitada, he would in all probability order the packages to
be delivered to the comandante.
The police representative left to secure the order, and I reported
the matter to the factor. Later I was told by the factor that the
comandante had arranged the matter, and that the baggage had been
delivered to him.
Very truly, yours,
Stuart Bellows,
Former employee of the Agencia Maritima
Nacional Limitada.
[Subinclosure 5.]
Mr. Lorentz to
Mr. McNally.
Guatemala City, August 22, 1900.
Sir: Referring to your request directed to
me personally yesterday for a statement of my recollections of the
facts in the case relating to the silver coin taken from the
Koenigsberger brothers at the port of San José de Guatemala in
December, 1899, by the authorities of the Guatemalan Government, I
beg to submit below my recollections of the case.
[Page 256]
The morning following the seizure of the silver coin I was sent for
by the Koenigsberger brothers, who were detained as prisoners at the
comandancia, asking me to come and see them and endeavor to secure
their release, which” I succeeded in doing by application to the
comandante of the port, Don Salvador R. Cabrera.
After the release of the elder Mr. Koenigsberger, who exhibited
papers certifying that he was an American citizen, he personally
made the statement to me that two valises had been forcibly seized
by the comandante of the port on the evening previous, and that said
valises were his property; that they contained silver coin amounting
to something over $2,000 in silver coinage of the republics of Peru,
Chili, and Guatemala. He further stated that these valises
containing said coin were checked by the Guatemala Central Railway
Company, said checks being in their possession and duplicates on
valises. That the seizure was made directly from that company, he
not having surrendered the duplicate checks, and furthermore that he
had not endeavored or at any time attempted to export said coin, and
requested that the valises should be delivered to himself.
Notwithstanding said personal request, the comandante of the port
took the two valises into his possession and retained the same until
the following morning, and also, he stated, the comandante still
retained the same.
Some time after the release of Koenigsberger I received a written
request from the comandante to call at his office at noon relative
to the case. This I did, Mr. Koenigsberger and his brother and some
eight or ten persons more being present, most of whom were employees
of the Government of the port of San José, such as secretaries and
clerks. The comandante then had brought the two valises to the
office and told Mr. Koenigsberger to open them, which Mr.
Koenigsberger refused to do. The comandante then ordered them broken
open; whereupon Mr. Koenigsberger, protesting, proceeded to open
them with his keys.
My remembrance now is that the Government officials proceeded to take
all the articles out of the two valises, collecting all the coined
silver, which amounted to something over $1,800, which was placed
upon the comandante’s desk and there counted. After this he remained
in possession of the silver, returning the valises and other
articles taken from them to Mr. Koenigsberger. This coin was
retained by the comandante against the protest of both Mr.
Koenigsberger and myself, and presumably on the grounds that it had
been the intention of Mr. Koenigsberger to export the silver, though
this last was denied by Mr. Koenigsberger.
The next day I had occasion to go to Guatemala City. On the same
train were Siegfried Koenigsberger and his brother. When the train
arrived at Escuintla the authorities entered the train and arrested
both, taking them to the jail at Escuintla. On arriving in the city
I immediately notified the United States minister, W. Godfrey
Hunter.
I am, etc.,
Upton Lorentz,
Late United States Consular Agent at San José
de Guatemala.
